#strangerthings vibes

[samazing0831]

Prom Night Panic - Steve Harrington x Reader

Hawkins High, 1986 Friends to lovers, slow-burn, prom night confession Vibe: soft lighting, soft hearts, soft hair (Steve's, obviously)

1.1k words

The Hawkins High gym looked like a half-hearted attempt at magic.

Paper stars dangled from the ceiling by curling ribbon. The disco ball spun a little too slowly to really dazzle, and the balloons - some barely clinging to helium - bobbed halfheartedly along the walls. "Crazy for You" by Madonna crackled through the school's aging sound system, doing its best to sell the illusion of romance.

You were dressed to the nines - hair curled, makeup perfect, dress hugging every curve - and still, you felt empty.

Your date had flaked hours ago. Claimed his car wouldn't start. That would've been believable... if you hadn't seen him at the arcade twenty minutes later. You almost didn't come. But Robin had begged. And deep down, you knew you'd regret staying home more than showing up solo.

You walked in with your friends, fake smiles plastered on, your heart still bruised.

Across the gym, Steve stood with Robin, laughing a little too loudly. His maroon suit shouldn't have worked, but of course it did. Hair perfectly Farrah Fawcett'd, smile charming as ever - even if it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Robin elbowed him, subtly nodding in your direction. He followed her gaze, and for a moment, your eyes met.

The world didn't stop. But maybe your heart did.

He smiled first - awkward and warm. You smiled back.

Robin melted into the crowd, and Steve started walking toward you, hands shoved in his pockets like he wasn't entirely sure if he should be doing this.

"Hey," he said, pausing in front of you. "So... prom kinda sucks without a date, huh?"

He let out a nervous laugh. "Thought I'd be here making some girl swoon by now. Guess I peaked in '84."

You rolled your eyes playfully. "Steve, tell me something I don't know."

You were teasing, sure - but your voice carried something heavier beneath the sarcasm. A tremble of insecurity you didn't want him to hear. You'd come here trying to pretend your heart wasn't hurting. But standing in front of Steve? That was harder to fake.

He looked you up and down - quick, but not sleazy. His gaze softened. "You look..." He trailed off, then shrugged with a laugh. "I was gonna say 'nice,' but that feels like a crime. You look insane. In, like, a good way."

The song changed. Another slow one. Couples moved to the dance floor, laughter dissolving into soft whispers and slow steps.

Steve shifted on his feet, fidgeting. "I mean... we're already here. We're both alone. Wanna... dance? Just one? No pressure."

You hesitated. Just for a second.

"One dance," you said, slipping your hand into his. "Then someday I can tell my grandkids I danced with the Steve Harrington. Maybe that'll still mean something."

Steve chuckled, leading you onto the floor. "Oh, it'll mean something. I'll make sure of it. Gonna be a household name by then - Harrington Industries or something."

You both laughed as his hand found your waist and the other laced with yours. You swayed in time with the music, the disco ball throwing specks of light across the floor like fireflies.

Silence settled over you. Not awkward - comfortable. Familiar.

"I almost didn't come tonight either," Steve said quietly. "I figured, what's the point without a date, right?" His thumb brushed gently across your hand. "But then I thought... if I stayed home, I'd miss dancing with you. And I guess... I just didn't wanna miss that."

You looked up at him, startled by the softness in his voice.

"Look at you, Harrington. That was almost romantic."

He smirked. "Almost?"

"You're not so bad, Steve, y'know."

His grin softened. "You really think that? That I'm not so bad?"

He leaned in slightly, like he needed the answer more than he wanted to admit.

The music shifted again - another dreamy, lovesick ballad from the Top 40. But neither of you moved.

"I think about you a lot," he said, like he was saying something casual - but his eyes betrayed him. They were wide, searching. "More than I probably should, considering we're just friends."

You froze.

Surely, he didn't mean -

"I - uh, thank you? I guess?"

Steve winced. "Wow, yeah. That sounded way smoother in my head."

He didn't let go of your hand. "I just meant... I think I might've been waiting for a night like this. No pressure, no dates, just us. And suddenly I couldn't stop wondering why I was trying so hard with everyone but you."

His gaze dropped to the floor, then back to yours.

"But maybe I'm reading this all wrong," he added, voice quiet. "I just... couldn't not say it anymore."

You swallowed hard. "Couldn't not say what, Steve?"

He looked at you like he already knew the fallout of his answer - good or bad - but had no choice but to say it anyway.

"That I like you," he said. "Not just tonight. Not just because your date didn't show. I think I've liked you for a while."

His thumb traced your knuckles absentmindedly.

"I was just too chicken to say it, because if you didn't feel the same... I didn't wanna screw up what we have. But standing here? Holding your hand, dancing in this stupid tux with my dumb hair? It feels like I'd regret it more if I kept pretending."

You didn't speak.

You didn't think.

You moved.

Your hand moved up to his cheek, fingers curling against his skin, and you leaned in - pressing your lips to his in a kiss that felt like electricity and warmth and every mixtape-worthy moment all rolled into one.

He didn't hesitate. His arms pulled you in, like he'd been waiting forever. The music became nothing but a background hum, the dance floor melting away around you.

When you pulled back, Steve's forehead rested gently against yours, his breath warm and quick.

"Okay," he whispered. "That definitely means you feel the same... right?"

You laughed, breathless. "Yeah. I feel the same."

Steve grinned - boyish and bright and completely disarming. "Good. That's - good. I was scared I'd totally misread things, and you'd slap me or something."

He glanced around, then back at you. "So... you think we could skip the rest of prom? Get milkshakes or something? Just... you and me?"

You smiled. "A milkshake sounds good."

He exhaled, relieved. "Cool. Let's ditch this joint."

Fingers still tangled in yours, he led you out of the gym and into the night. The air was cool, the sky clear, and for the first time all evening, everything felt right.

Steve opened the car door with a dramatic bow. "Your chariot awaits, m'lady."

And when he started the engine, headlights cutting through the Hawkins dark, you felt it in your chest - like maybe, just maybe, this night would be one you'd remember forever.

I'm thinking of adding a smut part 2 to this... thoughts?

[fira54funko]

An 80s Mall Scene.

[infectedyke]

mike wheeler is a hardcore talking heads fan

[robinbuckleysfringe]

paper rings.

a joseph quinn social media au

pairings: joseph quinn x keery!reader

warnings: pronouns for reader vary between she & they, I've tried to keep it as gender neutral as possible even tho I do use female faceclaims

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*yninstagram has posted*

tagged strangerthings, joekeery, maya_hawke, nattyiceofficial, gatenm123 & charlie.r.heaton

liked by tomblyth, josephquinn, milliebobbybrown, rachelzegler and others

yninstagram breaking my insta hiatus to tell you all that we're back for another adventure into the Upside Down 🦇🫶🏻💕

View comments

joekeery why'd you have to crop half my face out like that

> yninstagram to make room for nat's face, obvs

> joekeery so you're saying you love her more than me???

> yninstagram of course, duh 🙄. you should know this by now

maya_hawke reunited bby!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

> yninstagram missed youuuuu 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

madelyncline not you trying to crop joe out the picture 💀

> yninstagram there's already too much joe content on my page, the people need more nat

josephquinn very excited to join the upside down with you all!!

> yninstagram aw joe!! we're so happy to have you join our stranger things family 🫶🏻

madisonbaileybabe the 80s look great on you but I miss our beach vibes 😭🫶🏻

> yninstagram thanks hun!! I miss filming with you 🫶🏻🫶🏻

rudeth not you finally posting

> yninstagram as if you're online more than I am

rachelzegler don't die this season pls

> yninstagram I can't make any promises 😭😭😭

> user Y/N WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????

user obsessed with these bts pics!!!

user ahhhh, so excited for this season!!!

user omg they finally posted!!!

user love of my life. cannot wait to have you back on my screen!!!

☆☆☆

*yninstagram has posted*

tagged rachelzegler, tomblyth & hunterschafer

liked by josephquinn, maya_hawke, joekeery, madisonbaileybabe and others

yninstagram my best friend made a movie 🫶🏻🕊🐍

View comments

rachelzegler it was amazing to have you at the premiere angel 😇💕

> yninstagram love youuuu and everything you do ever 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻💕💕💕

> rachelzegler love youuu bby ❤️

madelyncline you always understand the assignment with the outfit

> madelyncline slay queen 👑😍

> yninstagram thanks bby 🫶🏻💕

joekeery it's criminal that you didn't invite me smh 😤

> yninstagram excuse me?? we're literally going to see it this weekend??

> maya_hawke do our plans not matter to you joe?? :((

josephquinn so this is why you weren't on set this week 👀

> yninstagram oops, did ya miss me? 😂

> josephquinn course not

sadiesink OMG SLAY!! 😍😍😍

user the fit is everything omg!!!

user now y/n is a person who would 100% understand the met gala themes every year

user omg pls tell me you've got a small cameo in the movie!! that would be everything!!

☆☆☆

*yninstagram has posted*

tagged marvel & florencepugh

liked by florencepugh, tomblyth, rudeth, josephquinn and others

yninstagram booked and blessed baby!!! our new series Hawkeye drops on disney+ this december 🏹💜

View comments

yninstagram can't keep a secret to save my life, so if you heard about this beforehand- no you fucking didn't 🫶🏻

*yninstagram pinned this comment*

joekeery proud of you!!!

> yninstagram thank you

> joekeery tho I will say I'm gonna take some credit for your success because I ran all your audition lines with you

> yninstagram 😡🖕🏻

florencepugh dream come true to work with you!! 💜

> yninstagram aww, love you flo!! 💜

tomholland2013 welcome to the MCU y/n x

> yninstagram thanks spoiler man

> tomholland2013 heyy, uncalled for!!

> yninstagram shouldn't have spoiled your movie for me then 😤

> tomholland2013 I'm sorry :((

hichasestokes congrats on being booked and busy. idk how you do it 🐝

> yninstagram i love all these projects, but really I just wanna nap

tomholland2013 wait. THEY GAVE YOU A DOG?? unfair :((

> yninstagram someone sounds jelly lol. sucks to be you I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️

josephquinn not you posting this like you didn't tell me on set 2 days ago. congrats tho, you deserve it :))

> yninstagram thanks joe 🫶🏻

> josephquinn also can you give me my guitar back now? please. I need to practice

> yninstagram you'll have to find me first haha 🤪

> nattyiceofficial they're in their trailer

> charlie.r.heaton just follow the sound of pure chaos and you'll find them 😂

user SHUT. UP

user is this real??

user omg can't believe you're bringing Kate Bishop to life!!! so excited for this!!

☆☆☆

I'm aiming for this little series to have about 6 parts to it, like my tom blyth one. but feel free to comment anything you'd like to read/see in this (or any future) social media aus 🩷

[plinfaaa]

Ronance/StrangerThings Christmas!!

Cuz in Germany the 24th (today) is Boxing Day :3 CANT WAIT FOR THE EVENING!!

---☆

Since Robin doesn't have a lot of money she gets Nancy something small. But it's something that fits perfectly.

Nancy does have the money and usually gets Robin something bigger. But also something that fits perfectly

Joyce is the happiest person over Christmas. Everyone is stressed in Hawkins? Not her. She is the calmest person decorating with her children, preparing food and gifts. As long as Hopper, Will, El and Jonathan are all here, she is calm and content.

Karen likes to think about the gifts she gets her kids. She asks all of them what they want. Ted usually just gets them something expensive because he thinks he can somehow buy their love (Ted slander)

El and Will are the annoying siblings singing Christmas songs from first November on till the 29th January.

Steve and Robin get each other something EVER YEAR.

The party and fruity four do secret Santa all together.

Max spends holidays at the Sinclair household since her mom isn't the same after Billie's death. They took her in happily and Lucas parents even got her a gift.

Erica also got Max something

Suzie and Dustin send each other small Christmas packages with gifts.

Will confessed to Mike on a Christmas Day (Mike obv said yes 🙄🙄)

Eddie gets dice packets for D&D for all of his party members, including Erica. He goes of vibe and tries to find the perfect ones for everyone.

Robin keeps annoying Nancy one day before Christmas because "TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS!"

Merry Christmas yall :3

[1892]

what really bothers me is that boygenius brands their music as a sort of meta-critique response to a male-led rock music industry (doing phtoshoots inspired by old bands, calling themselves the boys, calling their album "the record") but their music is so nothing that the whole thing falls flat. like it's great that you ladies did a rolling stone photoshoot inspired by an old nirvana photoshoot but that doesn't make your music as culturally significant (or, let's be real, as good) as nirvana's was. i think conversations about who gets to make what kind of music are important when talking about the music industry as an industry, but there's nothing revolutionary about middling indie pop. they're riding the influence of better artists and then framing it as a provocative homage rather than laziness. it's like people saying strangerthings is good because it references old 80s movies.

no exactlyyyyyyyyy you 10000% understand. 'the record' as the title pissed me off so. bad . ..like... for someone to say that they're at all breaking boundaries or really doing any interesting meta shit is wild. they're just not. i said this in the post but.. i think it's very telling that they referenced leonard cohen, arguably one of the most influential and great songwriters of the 20th century, and boiled his legacy down to "horny poet"... like. if you're trying to take down/infiltrate/match this male-dominated industry, just tearing down great artists isn't the way to go? i mean i guess it is since everybody loves them lol but the vibes are so incredibly off.

[wildmagicplant]

pike and grog criticalrole 🤝 robin and steve strangerthings

don't ask me to explain this, it's the vibes

[castlebyersafterdark]

people are starting to put together show analysis essays on reddit ST. 'is anyone interested in long form essays?' how will it go down? im like babe tumblr been doing academia of this show for literal years and never needed to ask permission cos we KNEW each other would lap it up! essays mixed in with silliness and fun! reddit could never lmao

https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangerThings/comments/1kw1ik0/would_you_read_or_write_essays_on_stranger_things/

That's crazy that people are only just now considering doing long form talking and analysis on the show. I mean, everyone does fandom at different paces. Why sometimes I feel bad when people get ragged on for pointing stuff out some of us might have discovered or pointed out months if not years ago. Maybe someone just discovered the fandom or just picked up the show.

But reading the spirit of the thread topic... sounds like what half the fandom on Tumblr has been doing the whole damn time.

Different websites, different vibes I suppose.

[conexaoamerica]

American life 🇺🇸😍✨

-

-

➢ Credit 👉🏆🎥 @_americanlifes_

-

-

➢ Alliance @america_states @enjoy_la_ @latinbrazil

-

-

#conexaoamerica #flag

#americanflag #usa #life #vibe #instagram #strangerthings #netflix

[dopehopey]

Steve: get on your knees

Eddie, too fast: *falls and knocks them both over*

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

They really said strong Molly Ringwald from Sixteen Candles Vibes 

[fluffyfangirl]

Just a happy boy in his safe space

[ebingham]

There’s nothing more annoying than when you try to take a drag and then the fucking bud comes through the filter as if it owns the place and completely chokes you to death. 🙃🥲

[daryltron]

My latest music video, the 80's inspired breakup jam 'Our Love Was Strong'! Premiers Fri., March 11th @5PM on YouTube and Spotify...Also, you can sign up to my Email list to get the vid early!

[tonightthestarswillspeak]

CHECK OUT MY REMIX OF THE STRANGER THINGS INTRO THEME!! GIVE IT A SHARE IF YOU LIKE IT!! 

[harley-quinns-girlfriend]

I forgot how much I love season one of stranger things